Limestone lacrosse meets Dowling in title-game rematch

Published: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 11:34 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 11:34 p.m.

It’s a rematch of last year’s national championship game and perhaps a preview of the next one.

Fourth-ranked Limestone hosts No. 1 Dowling College of Oakdale, N.Y., at 1 p.m. Saturday in a men’s lacrosse matchup with national ramifications. These teams met for the NCAA Division II championship last May, with Dowling escaping with an 11-10 win at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Limestone finished 17-2 for a school-record number of victories.

For Dowling, this will be a tough test for its season-opener. Limestone is 2-0 with victories on the on the road against Tampa (17-5 on the strength of 14 straight goals) and St. Leo (7-5 after trailing in the fourth quarter). In the latter, senior attack Riley Loewen had three goals and three assists to dominate the scoring. He was named Lacrosse Magazine Division II national player of the week.

The Saints have five players with at least five points through the first two games. Loewen (British Columbia) leads with nine (six goals), followed by senior Corey Rich (Sacramento, Calif.) with eight, freshman Vinny Ricci (British Columbia) with six, and senior Zach Cummings (Crownsville, Md.) and junior Todd Nakasuji (Ontario) with five each. Junior Anthony Starnino (Rochester, N.Y.), senior Tor Reinholdt (British Columbia) and junior Todd Kozak (Ontario) also have scored goals.

Dowling (13-2 in 2012) knocked off then-No. 1 Mercyhurst, 7-6, in last year’s national semifinals to set up a showdown with Limestone. The Golden Lions lost by that same score to Mercyhurst during the regular season. Their other defeat was 15-7 against Limestone. They are led by Michael Brennan, who had 27 goals a year ago.

<p>It's a rematch of last year's national championship game and perhaps a preview of the next one.</p><p>Fourth-ranked Limestone hosts No. 1 Dowling College of Oakdale, N.Y., at 1 p.m. Saturday in a men's lacrosse matchup with national ramifications. These teams met for the NCAA Division II championship last May, with Dowling escaping with an 11-10 win at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.</p><p>Limestone finished 17-2 for a school-record number of victories.</p><p>For Dowling, this will be a tough test for its season-opener. Limestone is 2-0 with victories on the on the road against Tampa (17-5 on the strength of 14 straight goals) and St. Leo (7-5 after trailing in the fourth quarter). In the latter, senior attack Riley Loewen had three goals and three assists to dominate the scoring. He was named Lacrosse Magazine Division II national player of the week.</p><p>The Saints have five players with at least five points through the first two games. Loewen (British Columbia) leads with nine (six goals), followed by senior Corey Rich (Sacramento, Calif.) with eight, freshman Vinny Ricci (British Columbia) with six, and senior Zach Cummings (Crownsville, Md.) and junior Todd Nakasuji (Ontario) with five each. Junior Anthony Starnino (Rochester, N.Y.), senior Tor Reinholdt (British Columbia) and junior Todd Kozak (Ontario) also have scored goals.</p><p>Dowling (13-2 in 2012) knocked off then-No. 1 Mercyhurst, 7-6, in last year's national semifinals to set up a showdown with Limestone. The Golden Lions lost by that same score to Mercyhurst during the regular season. Their other defeat was 15-7 against Limestone. They are led by Michael Brennan, who had 27 goals a year ago.</p><p>Limestone has won seven of the 10 meetings all-time with Dowling.</p>